IS Gluttony a Disease or Choice?

[Katie5]

With so much brouhaha on obesity, is gluttony a disease or choice then?

I know exactly when I overeat- my stomach tells my I am full;

My brain sends me signals that I am full;

My sluggish rhythm tells me that I should stop.I know I should,

But I just have to have that last piece, so I would know it's gone and not be tempted again.Right?

So what better place to save the last piece than in my already capacity filled stomach:).Aaah, the food tastes so good.

Or I am feeling under the weather and having a pity-party of two, myself and food that is.

Food gives me a happy feeling (short-lived though) because I realise that when the pity-party is gone, I feel much worse when I can't fit into my clothes or I become more sluggish then when I first started.

That makes me feel much worse because now I've gone and done it -ruined the victory I had achieved in dealing with weight. So I feel sad all over again and resort to eating more perhaps that would help lift the blues that I feel right now from not fitting properly into my dress.

The blues lift (albeit temporarily) and I go to try my clothes again and feel much more worse, because the fit is even worse than before and then I feel the blues all over again and resort to food to make me feel better...you know the rest. It's a vicious cycle.

Oh wait(happy ending:), perhaps I can substitute something in its place, I'll go read a book, or maybe call a friend

Perhaps take a walk or maybe....Yeah right. I'd rather sit and have this last bite, it tastes so good.(Not so happy after all LO:rolleyes:L)

Is gluttony a choice or disease?

[Belle Epoque]

Gluttony is a term with a long-standing negative connotation. It is one of the seven deadly sins best known from Dante's The Divine Comedy. There is no way in which gluttony can be taken as a neutral term. By longstanding Western cultural tradition, gluttony is a negative term, a sin. Saying people today are choosing to put a negative connotation on this term is inaccurate - the negative connotation for this term has existed for over a millenium.

I have no issue with having a discussion about this topic, but choosing such a loaded term to start the debate does tend to set the stage for anger and judgment, rather than an exchange of well-reasoned ideas.

Most certainly it can be applied as a neutral term as well as a literal term. To do something in excess. If it's a "sinful" word it is because based on your individual principles, you have chosen to assign a religious association to this word, however I have chosen to assign a literal meaning. Does that make one interpretation any more or less valid than the other? No.

I will readily admit to being gluttonous on occasion - overeating at a wedding or overdrinking at a party, does that make me a sinner by your definition? It hardly matters because by my definition it does not, therefore: subject to interpretation.

[BloodCleanerRN]

Rather than being offended by the use of a particular word, I personally get offended at the 'culture' of obesity.

By culture of obesity, I mean an entire family bending over backwards to 'service' a 450+ lb family member, who is bed ridden, can't wipe their own backside after defecating, can't clean between their own rolls of excess adipose tissue, and can't breathe on their own while sleeping without the use of a BiPap machine.....the family members of this particular person snuck buckets of KFC and bags of McD's into this patient's ICU inpatient room.

That, to me, is MUCH more offensive than the simple use of the word 'glutton'.

It is offensive because this happens often. This is one of the causes of the healthcare cost crisis we all complain about. This should not be happening.

The American society at large (no pun intended) also seems to be bending over backwards to serve the culture of obesity. We are becoming sickeningly PC about everything relating to this topic. We are developing bariatric EVERYTHING....WHY in the world do OR's need to have surgical tables tested to tolerate 1,000 lb. patients??!!? Seriously! It's getting beyond ridiculous. Things need to change.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

"SO, I believe that we have an obvious CHOICE that effects obesity. Blaming obesity on genetics alone is very american, and just another way for someone to pass blame on there own faults, to something else. "

I don't see anyone here doing that at all.

As I said before it is much more complex than any 1 or 2 factors. Many things go into causing obesity.

[Fribblet]

In theory, perhaps. In reality, most people are going to be more far more receptive to being told "According to your weight today, you are overweight" than they will be to being told "According to your weight today, you are a glutton."

It doesn't matter if they're receptive to it because no one would be told that. You have misunderstood the meaning of gluttony. You can be a glutton and be skinny. Gluttony by definition has nothing to do with obesity.

In the everyday world, words have genuine power. They also have connotations that can significantly impact discussions.

Yes, and those who are prone to knee-jerk reactions will be totally unable to see past the connotations they have ascribed to those words, while those who are prone to thinking and comprehending will be able to interpret the context of the words used.

This is an example I use a lot, and I promise I will not contribute to the total derailment of this thread after this. The "N" word in and of itself is not offensive. I could have used it 500 hundred years ago and no one would have been up in arms; they'd probably just be confused. However, the tone and context in which the word has been historically used is what made it offensive. It was said in hate and therefore became hateful. Otherwise it's a word like any other. The word itself has no power what-so-ever.

If the point of the OP's post was to start an intellectual discussion about the nature of obesity, choosing a term loaded with 1400 years of negative connotations was extremely counterproductive. However, if the OP simply used it to start a somewhat controversial and response-filled thread, it's succeeding quite well. Both types of threads have their uses. There's a difference between "being PC" and simply being aware of the heft of individual words and the impact they're likely to have.

Is the term loaded? Sure. Not everyone will deem the word as offensive as you have though. You're the one giving it the power that it has, and if you're unable to glean the OP's overall intent, then you're blinded by the connotation you've placed on the word and are unable to see the forest for the trees.

Some people intentionally chose words to cause a reaction because they think (and are often right) that people are like sheep and can be easily manipulated based on the connotations of words. You'd be wise to analyze your reactions to certain words and figure out why some push your buttons more than others. Once you get a grip on that, you can see the bigger picture.

Words are just a series of grunts and noises we make when speaking and a series of symbols on a page when we write them. That's it. :)

[leslie :-D]

The majority overeat because they either deliberately or subconsciously choose to overeat.

bolding, mine.

this is where the ambiguity sets in (bolded).

if an action is "subconscious", how is it a choice.

i would venture to say that many overeaters, do so (in the absence of hunger) to fill an endless pit/hole.

that would be the emotional/psychological facet of 'gluttony'.

and if the aforementioned is true, then said gluttony, would be r/t a mental dysfunction that warrants intervention...

likely, long term.

the same holds true for any type of addiction...that it serves to fill an unfillable need, unless one gets help (which goes far beyond the act of physically stopping the habit in question).

so while food addicts et al, can intellectually recognize the need to stop, to lose weight, etc...

it'll be a lifelong battle until one digs to the root of that endless hole.

again, to imply it is a choice, is short-sighted and frankly, ignorant.

to imply it is a disease, undermines the capacity of man to acknowledge and be proactive in the plan of care.

it is both...a choice and disease, that warrants grueling, aggressive work to understand and manage.

leslie

[TDCHIM]

Most certainly it can be applied as a neutral term as well as a literal term. To do something in excess. If it's a "sinful" word it is because based on your individual principles, you have chosen to assign a religious association to this word, however I have chosen to assign a literal meaning. Does that make one interpretation any more or less valid than the other? No.

I will readily admit to being gluttonous on occasion - overeating at a wedding or overdrinking at a party, does that make me a sinner by your definition? It hardly matters because by my definition it does not, therefore: subject to interpretation.

I have made my case in two posts regarding the overarching, longstanding connotation attached to the word gluttony. That negative connotation exists in everyday usage not due to any personal standard or belief of mine, but due to 1400 years of western history and application. I will not belabor the point any longer on this thread; however, I stand by my argument.

Have a good day, all!

[BloodCleanerRN]

I understand that there is some mental health component present.

However, I feel that just as implication of 'choice' is considered short-sighted by some...the statement that it is a disease gives an excuse for many overeaters to continue down their paths of self-destruction.

[leslie :-D]

I understand that there is some mental health component present.

However, I feel that just as implication of 'choice' is considered short-sighted by some...the statement that it is a disease gives an excuse for many overeaters to continue down their paths of self-destruction.

1. i very much agree w/your previous post, about american mentality enabling the obesity epidemic.

'we' don't want to have a mature, adult dialogue, lest someone/many get offended...and that is counterproductive.

but minimizing any addiction to a "choice", is also counterproductive.

i too, am tired of enabling our ravenous, insatiable tendencies that run rampant in our society (not ltd to food.).

i too, am immensely frustrated w/family dynamics that cater to, enable, and exacerbate an addict's unhealthy behaviors.

but i maintain, the dynamics are far too complex to call it simply, a choice.

any addictive behavior, goes far beyond that.

i'm just not thoroughly convinced that it's a disease.

and if it is, there is no reason in the world why it cannot be managed....with lots of hard, hard work.

leslie

[HmarieD]

I once weighed about 150 lbs, 5'4". Thick, but not terribly obese. I began taking Effexor and immediately began gaining weight. I began to change my diet, which had never been bad, to include lots of whole grains, fresh fruits & veggies, water instead of soda, etc. Even with all these changes, I gained 75 lbs in a period of about a year and a half. Now at 225 lbs and being no taller, I am definitely obese.

So, am I a glutton or is my obesity a disease? Or, perhaps, might this be a terribly complex issue with as many explanations as there are obese people?

[QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP]

I think it's many factors. Society changing, the choice to eat more fast food (factory chemicals), this creates a food addiction (high fructose corn syrup), and the food additives lacking in any nutritional value cause the body to become out of whack which might lead to hormonal/regulatory problems. Poor food can certainly make you feel sluggish and bring on depression in the way it alters brain chemistry. I think it's an endless cycle. For most of us though, we have the choice not to go back for seconds, limit our sweets, skip the fast food, prepare meals ahead of time, pack a lunch, wake up a little earlier to exercise and make a halfway decent breakfast, etc.

*not yet a nurse, just a pre-nursing student with some thoughts.

[mazy]

"Gluttony" is not a disease or a choice, it is a judgement. As we become more aware of the issue of obesity; we have also had to open our eyes to the complex issues that cause people to become obese.

Yes, there are many people who overeat even though they have the resources to eat well and there are a lot of psych/soc factors that go into that.

However, what I see now a days is a correlation, or maybe a connection, between economic status, availability of nutritious food, and poor eating choices.

There are many areas in this country, many low income neighborhoods, where people do not have any access to any kind of food other than MacDonalds or the like. Food deserts.

When you are poor, and you never know when your next meal will be, and you do not have good food at hand, and no reliable transportation, you are going to eat whatever is available and you are going to eat a whole lot of it because you don't know when you will have another opportunity to eat.

It is almost a prisoner of war mentality, and over time people become conditioned to eat like that, even when they get into a situation where they have food. I sometimes wonder if it is that mentality that also leads a lot of low income people to smoke.

Factor in the reality that low income kids are relying on free school lunches that consist mainly of things like fried chicken nuggets and spaghetti with a side of fries and pie and you see this habits developing very early on in life.

These are habits that will continue on forever unless it is possible to break that cycle.

There was a time in my life when I was poor and because I grew up an environment where good eating habits were strongly encouraged, I found a way to stay away from the junk.

But I was obsessed with food and what was I going to eat to keep going. I tried shopping at the grocery store for healthy food and the reality was that for the price of what the ingredients of a healthy meal (vegetables, fruit, lean meat, etc.) I could buy ten boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese. For the price of a tomato I could buy a week's worth of toilet paper.

I can't imagine the kind of budgeting finessing that would go on if you were choosing between diapers and dinner for four.

So yes, there are people who have choices and who make bad choices.

But what do people do when they have NO choices? They survive in whatever way they can, and for those of us on the outside it is messy and unpleasant to look at and a constant visible reminder of things that we don't want know about what life is like for many people in this country.

So let's stop talking about gluttony.

[nohika]

bolding, mine.

this is where the ambiguity sets in (bolded).

if an action is "subconscious", how is it a choice.

i would venture to say that many overeaters, do so (in the absence of hunger) to fill an endless pit/hole.

that would be the emotional/psychological facet of 'gluttony'.

and if the aforementioned is true, then said gluttony, would be r/t a mental dysfunction that warrants intervention...

likely, long term.

the same holds true for any type of addiction...that it serves to fill an unfillable need, unless one gets help (which goes far beyond the act of physically stopping the habit in question).

so while food addicts et al, can intellectually recognize the need to stop, to lose weight, etc...

it'll be a lifelong battle until one digs to the root of that endless hole.

again, to imply it is a choice, is short-sighted and frankly, ignorant.

to imply it is a disease, undermines the capacity of man to acknowledge and be proactive in the plan of care.

it is both...a choice and disease, that warrants grueling, aggressive work to understand and manage.

leslie

I'm guilty pretty much of what you described - I'm a stress eater. If I'm upset/depressed/stressed/whatever, tasty food makes it better, even if only for a little while. I haven't had a chance to develop any other coping strategies, as the whole emotional eating thing started...um...10+ years ago. I'm still working on managing it - I walk each day, and try to watch what I eat, but it gets really hard when I'm extremely stressed. It's eat whatever is deliciouslytasty vs spending the time agonizing and freaking out.